119: Chapter 104: Slapping the Rival’s Face, Shocking the Whole Audience (Part Two) 119: Chapter 104: Slapping the Rival’s Face, Shocking the Whole Audience (Part Two) Note: The second update of 4,000 words is here, and there will be a third one today.
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The moment Crown Prince Zhi You’s piano music flowed out, the whole venue truly fell into utter silence.
The nobles present, and the high-ranking samurai lords almost held their breath to listen, fearing that the sound of their own breathing would disrupt these wonderful notes.
Suo Lun too closed his eyes, listening intently to Zhi You’s piece.
After the first few notes, Suo Lun realized that Zhi You’s piano skills were superior to his own.
Or rather, in terms of pure playing technique, he was no less than those piano princes on Earth.
Of course, this was normal, after all, he had studied for a good ten-plus years at Dragon Temple, majoring in Martial Arts and the arts.
In this world, Suo Lun had heard four people play the piano: Suo Ningbing, Yi Yun, Meng Tuoluo, and Zhi You.
Meng Tuoluo’s skill was originally the highest, but after transforming into Black Widow, her mind became greatly disturbed, losing her once beautiful emotions.
Therefore, her piano skills had also greatly deteriorated.
So, with that, the Zhi You before him was almost the highest skilled pianist Suo Lun had seen in this time.
Or rather, his technique was the highest.
The way he played was incredibly lavish, dazzlingly skillful, and incredibly difficult.
And his “Moonlight,” to be honest, if judged solely on artistic realm, would be hard to score very high.
However, because of its difficulty, it could achieve a very high score.
Because this piece seemed to have been created just to show off.
The beginning was so soft, so slow, that it was exceedingly difficult to play because it was slow but could not be cut off—each note had to be connected with poetic fluidity.
Later, the piano music suddenly became fierce and uplifting.
Suo Lun could clearly feel, the lunar eclipse had come, that is, the so-called ‘celestial dog devouring the moon.’
Zhi You’s hands then moved so fast they were completely blurry.
His showmanship reached its peak; those hands moved as if they were magically manipulating shadows.
The audience was not only intoxicated by the hearing, but completely fixated by sight.
Many noblewomen’s eyes almost drowned in the light, staring at those long and powerful hands with boundless fervor.
In the eyes of many noblewomen, what attracted them was definitely not martial prowess—first comes looks, status, temperament.
And what can best showcase these attributes, undoubtedly, is art, is music.
So, even if it was just to attract the attention of the opposite sex, the noble youths pursued music fiercely.
Even with his eyes closed, Suo Lun could nearly visualize just how exaggeratedly fast Zhi You’s hands were moving at this moment.
This segment of the ‘celestial dog devouring the moon’ in the piece was truly extremely difficult.
It was even more so than that last piano battle piece in the film “The Pianist on the Ocean” on Earth.
If Suo Lun were to play it, he felt he might not be able to keep up, at least it would be very hard to play as well as the Princely Heir Zhi You.
Such skill was unparalleled, breathtaking to behold!
The piece then moved into darkness and sorrow.
Because the whole moon had disappeared, and the world was in darkness, the moon was completely devoured by the celestial dog.
The piano sound suddenly spiked, followed by an uplift.
A bright light flickered.
An extremely beautiful figure appeared within the darkness, piercing through the gloom of the world.
Without a doubt, this beauty came from Gui Qinshao, the most beautiful woman in the room at the time.
Her beauty bit by bit consumed the darkness, tore through the night, rescuing the moon from the dark celestial dog.
In the end, the bright moon triumphed over the darkness and hung once again in the night sky.
Its luster shone upon the face of the beauty.
At once, it was impossible to discern whether it was the bright moon illuminating the beauty or the beauty reflecting the moon.
Eventually, the piece concluded.
There was first a complete silence in the venue, then thunderous applause erupted.
Count Suo Lun included, clapped vigorously.
The first to stand up were Gui Qinshao and Gui Xingfu, followed by everyone standing up to applaud.
Zhi You stood up, bowing to thank the audience.
“‘This tune belongs to the heavens; how often does one hear it on Earth?'” Gui Xingfu’s praise voiced everyone’s sentiment.
The nobles present were initially just there to flatter, so they had all prepared their praise in advance, knowing that even if Zhi You played poorly, they could still flatter him endlessly.
However, when Zhi You finished playing, they actually found themselves unable to offer praise, because the performance was too wonderful.
In the end, Gui Xingfu’s praise thoroughly expressed their feelings.
Indeed, it was played too excellently, surpassing their cognition, leaving them unable to express their admiration with words, as it exceeded their capabilities.
Gui Qinshao had not been very interested in the arts, but after listening, her eyes suddenly gleamed with astonishment, fixating at Zhi You.
She had initially thought he was just exceedingly handsome, but she had not expected him to have such a high artistic accomplishment.
This level of artistic skill could completely captivate someone’s mood.
“Count Suo Lun, what do you think?” Zhi You asked smugly.
“The Princely Heir’s playing skill is incomparable,” said Suo Lun.
Zhi You frowned, he knew that his advantage lay in showmanship.
However, in the top tier of the art world, this had a slightly derogatory connotation.